


Sweet like Jealousy

by TheLazyAngel456



Category: The last kids on earth
Genre: Angst, Costumes, F/M, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Halloween, Hurt and comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jealousy, M/M, Some Swearing but it’s only like- 3 times, Tears, Wingman Dirk, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27345622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLazyAngel456/pseuds/TheLazyAngel456
Summary: Jack and Quint were planning a simple Halloween party as a way to make things a little more normal, but jealousy hits Quint when Jack mentions that he’s taking June to said party instead of their original plans
Relationships: Jack Sullivan/Quint Baker, June Del Toro and Jack Sullivan, June Del Toro/Jack Sullivan, Quint Baker and Dirk Savage
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Sweet like Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know I’m a day late (technically two) 
> 
> I don’t have much to say on this story, I was looking for a long Jack and Quint fic filled with fluff and angst and I thought IF NO ONE ELSE WILL WRITE IT I MIGHT AS WELL TRY
> 
> Anyways- this story took a lot of time to write and I’m honestly pretty proud of it. All I hope if whoever comes across this fic that they enjoy it! I sprinkled in a lot of headcanons as well so I hope y’all enjoy those!!
> 
> Again, thank you so much and I hope y’all had a happy Halloween!! :D
> 
> Also- if a section is marked with a “—-“ it implies there was a time skip, I got a little lazy so I’m fairly sorry about that! (ーー;)

Quint practically sprinted into the treehouse living room, one hand grasping the edge of the doorframe and a large blueprint in the other “Jack!! I’ve got excellent news!” 

June and Jack were sitting on the couch, a cheer from June showed she had just beat Jack in a 1v1 fighting game, Jack turned around, arm hanging off the back of the couch “What’s up buddy?” He asked

Quints grin somehow grew wider in response “Check this out! I got all the plans set up!” Quint said as he went over to the bench and sat down, he spread the blue paper across the groups main table.

Jack’s eyes widened in realization as he sprung up from the couch, nearly tripping over his own feet as he raced toward his best friend, sliding up beside Quint while throwing an arm around him shoulder.

Jack’s eyes practically lit up. The blueprints in front of the two was for the set up of the Halloween party Quint and Jack had been talking about since last week. 

Jack really wanted a Halloween party since it was his favorite holiday, along with the fact it would make everything feel a little more...normal, plus with the generator they managed to snag from the planetarium everything was as good as gold! Quint was on board as soon as Jack brought it up, it was a very enjoyable holiday for him as well, especially since it got a little less lonely after he met Jack, this was also a great opportunity to teach the monsters more about human culture!!

Quint explained each part of the plan as he tried to control the warmth spreading to his cheeks “So we’re planning to get the surround sound system from the mall, it should be a lot safer since Wormungulous hasn’t been seen for a while now, I’m sure you and June can handle that! Since she knows a lot more about that sort of thing...” Quint trailed off

Jack’s eyes widened “Oh yeah! About that-“ 

Without realizing, Quint cut him off “I was planning to explain everything to Dirk, and if he’s on board we’re going to get supplies from the Party City up the street!” 

“That’s great but-“ 

“And since we agreed on being each others co-host and plus 1, with your charm and my-“ Quint turned to Jack as he spoke, a smile on his face and a excited sparkle in his eyes

It was Jack’s turn to cut Quint off

“I’m going with June” He said simply

There was a brief moment of silence,before Quint yelled 

“WHAT?!”

Jack’s eyes widened from Quint’s sudden outburst, he pulled his arm away from Quints shoulder

“I didn’t think it’d be a big deal-“ Jack started

“And it isn’t!” Quint said quickly, feeling his face grow hot from embarrassment 

“It’s just-“ Quint started, lowering his voice to a whisper, looking down at the wooden table, trying to distract himself by tracing random shapes on the wood 

Jack raised a brow, before leaning forward, arms crossed on the table and his cheek pressed up against his arms as he looked up at his best friend, knowing he got into Quint’s field of vision.

“Need to talk about something?” He asked

Quint’s eyes widened before chuckling lightly, he began picking at the wood grain on the table before turning to Jack, then beginning to speak

“Before shit hit the fan...Halloween was kinda our thing!” Quint began to count on his fingers “We’d plan our costumes so they’d play off of eachother, plan our route around the neighborhood so we could hit the candy jackpot, and then we’d end off the night watching horror movies and eating ice cream till we passed out...” Quint chuckled fondly at the memories

Jack listened attentively before sitting up “Wellll why don’t we just switch things up a little this year?” Jack asked with a grin and a raised brow

That...wasn’t what Quint wanted to hear. Instead, Quint raised a brow in return, implying he was confused when in reality he was trying to hide any sign that his heart was shattering into more and more pieces at a time. 

He should’ve been used to this by now. Quint had a crush on Jack for...a pretty long time now. For about the same amount of time Jack has had a crush on June. It was hard, it is for anyone who’s fallen in love with their best friend, but for Quint he managed to push through a lot of his feelings. Sure, it led to him becoming extremely invested in multiple projects at once, but it kept him clear of any confusing and hard-to-keep-up-with emotions. That didn’t stop them from getting in the way in certain situations, like this one.

“I mean- what’s wrong with just going with the flow? Everything else has already changed so much soooo why don’t we embrace it?” Jack asked

Quint sighed, followed by a nod “Yeah...you’re right, I guess it doesn’t matter that much...” Quint trailed off

“It’s just that- you couldn’t have at least given me a heads up?” Quint asked, turning back to his best friend 

Jack blinked, his expression seemed dumbfounded “Okay that ones on me” 

“I told her about our party plan on our last patrol, she ended up loving it and I ended up asking her to be my plus one!” Jack grinned. 

Quint could see Jack’s cheeks turn pink, it was either from his excitement or his love struck nature. Quint forced a soft smile “I’m happy for you, friend” Quint said quietly

“Friend”

He always wondered why every time he said that, it started to feel more and more wrong.

Jack grinned “Thanks Buddy!” 

June called back to Jack “Jack!! Get back here! I’m not done kicking your ass yet!” 

Jack chuckled and stood up “I’ll tell her about the plan and we’ll head out tomorrow, sound good?” 

“Sounds excellent” Quint smiled, and Jack returned back next to June on the couch.

Quint let his shoulders sink as he stared down at his blueprints before sighing. He quickly grabbed the paper and carefully rolled it back up into a scroll. He quickly went to go find Dirk, who was luckily right outside, caring for a small garden he managed to fix up near the treehouse. 

Quint climbed down the ladder, hopping off the last step and proceeded to race toward the taller, who was kneeled down and caring for what Quint assumed to be carrots, but it could be any array of vegetables, Dirk was growing a lot of them. It was incredibly impressive. 

Dirk noticed the smaller scientist doing a half-sprint toward him “Hey Einstein”

“Greetings friend, I’ve got something we need to go over”

Dirk chuckled, eyeing the giant blue scroll the smaller was holding, he proceeded to stand up, then crossing his arms “I can tell. Watcha got?” Dirk asked

Quint stood next to the taller, unrolling the scroll as he spoke “Jack and I have been going over a plan to have a Halloween party, we already have everything set up, Jack and June are going to handle the music but we still need decorations. We were thinking about going take some from the Party City up the street, so I thought we were going to need a extra pair of hands sooooooo-“ 

Dirk chuckled and ruffled up Quint’s hair “Just tell me when you need help with the heavy lifting” 

Quint laughed when Dirk ruffled his curls “Thanks Dirk, it’s much appreciat-“ 

Quint cut himself off when he heard faint laughter coming from Jack and June in the treehouse. 

Quint felt his shoulders sink once again, his eyes meeting the ground. Dirk, of course, immediately noticed this

“Sooo what’s their deal?” Dirk asked, pointing his thumb toward the treehouse as he raised a brow, looking down toward Quint

Quint sighed, lowering his blueprint “They’re going to the party together. She’s his plus one” 

“Yeesh...” Dirk cringed 

“Yup.” Quint sighed

“I thought you two would’ve-“ 

Quint cut him off “Yeah. Apparently there was a change in plans.” 

Dirk was one of the only people that knew about Quints crush on Jack. Quint thought he was fairly good at hiding it, but Dirk managed to catch a few times where Quint let his mask slip, and those few times were enough to put two and two together.

“You gonna be okay?” Dirk asked, resting a hand on Quints shoulder, before pulling away when Quint began to speak.

Quint chuckled as he rolled up the blueprint “I- I honestly don’t know...” Quint trailed off “It was so much easier to handle before everything...happened. And I-“ 

“You wish she wasn’t around as much?” 

Quints eyes widened in shock before turning to Dirk “What?! Of course not!! June is a very good friend! To all of us! She doesn’t even know about it!! Why would I blame her for any of this?!”

“If anything, I blame myself...I- I’m not really good with emotions...or feelings.” Quint could feel his face flush lightly as he tugged at his collar 

“I didn’t exactly ask for any of this. Hell- It’s still tough admitting it sometimes, but....” 

Dirk raised a brow “But what?”

“I’m...genuinely happy for him, and...I think this’ll be good for the both of us!” Quint smiled “Maybe we just need a night apart!” 

Dirk looked down at Quint with a soft frown, before patting the smaller on the back “You’re WAY too good for him Einstein”

Quint could only chuckle in response

——

Tonight was the night

The crew had spent 2 whole days preparing everything for this party to be the best it could be. They decorated the town square with all the fake cobwebs, pumpkins and streamers they could find. Chef and Dirk teamed up and had managed to make a huge buffet for Humans and Monsters to enjoy, Jack and June spent hours making a playlist to blast on the jukebox, all that was left were costumes. 

It didn’t take long for Quint to put his costume together, he decided to go as a scientist, so all he needed was his lab coat, and some extra goggles and gloves he had lying around! He also changed his sneakers and replaced them with a pair of black boots. 

Quint was busy messing around with the jukebox when he felt a large shadow loom over him, he turned around to see Dirk in his werewolf costume, which was just a red flannel, ripped jeans and a pair of wolf ears. 

“Hey Quint you think the fangs look alright?” Dirk asked, picking at the small plastic fangs he had glued to his canines

Quint stood up “I assure you it looks great Dirk” Quint smiled “I’m honestly a little surprised we managed to find all the pieces in time” 

Dirk chuckled “You and me both” 

“By the way...” Quint started “Where are Jack and June?” He asked

Dirk perked up “Oh! They’re still in the treehouse, they’re fixing up each other’s face paint” 

“So they haven’t said anything about their costumes to you either?” Quint asked

Dirk shook his head 

With perfect timing, Jack and June came from the direction of the treehouse, the two were wearing matching face paint, their skin green with stitch marks drawn across, along with fake bolts glued to their necks. Since they didn’t have many clothes to work with, Jack was wearing a plain black shirt with his blue hoodie, along with the same black glove on his left hand, along with his blue jeans and red sneakers. June was wearing a white T-Shirt as well, her red hoodie was tied around her waist, along with her black jeans and teal sneakers.

“The party monsters have arrived!!!” Jack announced, receiving a laugh from June

“Did you seriously just call us that?” June asked, raising a brow with a smile

Jack chuckled, throwing an arm around June “Aw cmon! It’s a good announcement for us! It gets the heads turning y’know?” Jack asked, raising a brow with a smile

June rolled her eyes playfully, causing Jack to chuckle, before turning to Quint

“Watcha think of the costumes-“ Jack started, before he realized that Quint was glaring at the two of them with the fury of a thousand suns.

Jack raised a brow “Uhhh Quint? Buddy? You okay?” Jack asked

Quint snapped out of whatever rage trance he was in, and nodded “Yeah, I’m excellent! why do you ask?”

Jack looked over to June with a perplexed look, June giving Jack the same expression in return

“It’s nothing” Jack smiled “June and I are gonna go fix up the playlist for the party, we’ll see you guys in a few hours!” Jack grinned, before walking back toward the treehouse with June

As soon as the two were further away, Quint felt the weight fall off of his shoulders, he spoke through gritted teeth 

“They’re freaking matching...” Quint trailed off

Dirk spoke up “Quint are you sure that you’re alright with-“

Quint cut him off “I said I’m fine.” 

Dirk frowned “But you aren’t”

Quint crossed his arms and slouched forward, giving himself a hug. He could feel his vision begging to fog up, biting his lip as a way to fight the tears.

“You really need to talk to him about this.” Dirk said simply “If you cant do it now you shouldn’t at least try at the party” 

Quint gripped at the lab coat until his knuckles were sore, before Dirk rested a hand on his shoulder 

“Take your time, okay?” Dirk reassured Quint “There isn’t nt any rush, just make sure it happens today” Dirk smiled

Quint chuckled “You’re a really good friend Dirk” the shorter smiled

Dirk laughed “Don’t mention it” He smiled, as he pulled his hand away 

“I’ve got to go help Chef with the rest of the grub, holler if you need anything alright?” 

Quint nodded “You got it” He smiled as he watched Dirk walk off to the other monsters

He seemed to enjoy being a part of their group, he must’ve found comfort in the monsters,since they acted fairly similar to him and all

Quint turned back to the jukebox and looked toward the glass, tired eyes stared back at him before he took a deep breath, then sighed. 

“You got this. You can do this”

——

He couldn’t do this. 

The party was going relatively smoothly. All the monsters seemed to be having fun, and Dirk, Jack and June were having fun on the dance floor, along with cracking jokes and having the time of their lives.

Quint on the other hand, wasn’t having too much fun. The purple and orange lights that hung between the treehouse combined with the loud music gave Quint a horrible headache. 

He stayed seated at one of the tables near the food, he planned to spend the entire znight sitting there, drinking punch and finishing off the rest of Dirks pumpkin cookies. (seriously those things were freakin delicious)

But even Quint knew he was just delaying the inevitable. 

Dirk came over for what seemed like the 4th time that night. He sat down next to Quint, arms rested on the table.

“Hey...you alright?” Dirk asked

Quint chuckled “That question is starting to get a little repetitive at this point Huh?” Quint asked, turning his head toward Dirk, before looking back at the lovely scene in front of him

When Dirk looked over, he saw Jack and June having the time of their lives, Jack was in the middle of twirling the girl before Jack returned to his ridiculous dance moves, getting a laugh out of June. 

It really was a sweet sight

Quint kept his cheek rested on his hand, taking another sip from his cup. Tired eyes staring over at the couple

Dirk sighed “So you haven’t talked to him” 

“Nope”

“Are you going to?”

“Eventually...” 

“That isn’t going to cut it and we both know it Quint” 

Quint buried his face in his arms that were now resting on the table “I know...”

Quint looked up over at the two once again, a sigh escaping his lips “Can I at least have one more cup before I go out there?” Quint asked

Dirk chuckled “Nope. You’ve practically drunk half of the punch bowl at this point. Plus, youd just be buying time” 

Quint sighed and stood up “Thanks Dirk” 

Dirk smiled in return “It’s no problem, Good Luck”

Quint smiled and picked up his cup, which only had about a quarter of punch left. He stared down at the cup before looking back at Jack and June

His eyes widened in shock when he saw the scene in front of him. 

Jack and June were extremely close. Their hands intertwined and their foreheads pressed together. They seemed exasperated from laughing, if it weren’t for the face paint their faces would’ve been bright red. 

Quint could feel the jealousy bubble up in his stomach, and the tears prick up in the corners of his eyes. He clenched his teeth, his shocked expression turning into a glare

He took his cup and chugged the rest of his punch before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He tossed the cup to the ground, then proceeded to step on it. The loud CRUNCH of the plastic got both June and Jack’s attention

“Hey Quint-!” Jack started with a smile, pulling away from June

Quint looked unamused “We need to talk”

——

Quint had dragged Jack to a more private area near the treehouse, that way the music wouldn’t affect their conversation. 

Well...less of a conversation and more of a fight 

“What do you mean you weren’t okay with June going to the party with me?!” Jack shouted 

Quint sighed, speaking with a irritated tone in his voice “I wasn’t okay with it from the beginning, I didn’t want anything to change this time...” 

Jack gave Quint a perplexed look “Quint what are you talking about?” 

Quint chuckled “Don’t you get it Jack? Ever since the Beastiary incident everything’s been changing!”

“But change is a good thing!” 

Quint sarcastically laughed “Jack you are the one person I’d expect to know that change isn’t always good”

Jack sighed “Alright fine, sure- change can really suck sometimes, but it’s always worked out for us!!” 

Quint rolled his eyes “It didn’t before everything happened...it was fine when it was just the two of us!” 

“And now we got more friends! Now we have Dirk and June and the other monsters! So- WHY is it such a big deal if we end up having more friends?!” 

“BECAUSE THEY AREN’T YOU JACK!”

Jack took a step back, his eyes wide as he looked back at his best friend, he noticed the tears in his eyes and the shade of crimson that began to travel across his cheeks 

“You think I haven’t noticed we’re drifting apart?” Quint asked with a light chuckle, stepping toward his best friend

Quint took Jack’s hand in both of his. Jack’s palm rested against Quints left hand, while Quints right dragged his thumb across the back of Jack’s hand

“Ever since the apocalypse started...you said it was the start of the best life you’ve ever had yet...it’s been the complete opposite for me...” Quint trailed off, looking down at Jack’s hand 

“Sure, all the stuff that’s been changing has been incredible...but then everyone suddenly gets new friends and no one needs me anymore and I just-“ Quint could feel the tears well up in his eyes and start to roll down his cheeks 

“I don’t want to lose you too”

Quint choked on a sob, his face flushing a darker shade of red

Jack could feel his stomach drop as he saw Quint break down. 

“Hey hey hey-“ Jack started softly, trying to calm down his friend

Suddenly, the upbeat music that previously played began to fade into a slower, more melodic song

Jack immediately recognized the tune, and attempted to get Quints attention. 

“Hey, buddy? Listen for a sec okay?” Jack asked softly 

Quint let go of Jack’s hand, and carefully listened to the tune. his eyes widened in realization before he looked back at Jack 

“It’s...” Quint trailed off in disbelief

Jack grinned in return “It’s our song”

Before the apocalypse, Quint and Jack had usually gone to school dances together. During one of them, Jack and Quint had gotten thrown in the middle of a dance circle, whoever shoved them there had the intent to embarrassing them. 

Luckily, the two had been practicing their dance skills so Jack could at least have a chance of dancing with June, compared to before where he kept stepping on the feet of anyone he’d dance with, the two friends like to believe they wowed the crowd, and ended up embarrassing the one who tried to embarrass them. 

Quint felt his heart flutter and his face grow hot, he could only imagine how his face looked in that moment, he only prayed he didn’t look like a deer in the headlights. 

“I didn’t think-“ 

Jack chuckled “I spent three hours working on a playlist with June! You thought I wouldn’t add this song in? It...it was her idea actually” Jack grinned, rubbing the back of his neck, bashfully looking down at the grass, a pink blush dusting his cheeks

Panic ran through Quints veins and worry clouded his thoughts. Did June know? He couldn’t be sure...he hadn’t said anything, granted he didn’t say anything to Dirk either but he was able to catch on fairly quickly- 

“Look. I...I screwed up a lot tonight. And...I really want to try and make it up to you.” Jack smiled softly “And last time I checked...I owe you a dance”

Jack held out his hand toward his best friend

“So whaddya say?”

Quint had to resist dropping his jaw in awe. He could feel a grin tugging at his lips, causing him to cover his mouth, a laugh escaped from the boy

“You are the cheesiest person I’ve ever met” Quint smiled

Jack laughed and rolled his eyes playfully, he took Quints hand and leaned forward 

“Last time I checked, you called it “Charm” Jack chuckled with a wink

Quint covered the soft smile tugging at his lips with his free hand, he honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he looked lovestruck, because that’s exactly how he felt. He was on cloud 9 and he didn’t want to come back down

“Soooo are we going to stay standing here like dorks or are we going to go look ridiculous on that dance floor?” Jack asked

Quint pulled his hand away from his mouth “I’d prefer the second option” Quint smiled

Jack’s eyes practically lit up as he tugged on Quints hand, pulling Quint toward the large crowd of monsters, the duo laughing the entire way there

——

The party was over, the buffet was picked clean and decorations were scattered everywhere, that would take hours to clean in the end, but none of the crew could care less. 

Quint was busy winding down from the party in his little “room” of the treehouse, though, he wouldn’t necessarily call it a room since they lacked doors, and a sense of privacy. He had fully changed out of his Halloween costume, and was now wearing a spare hoodie and a pair of pajama pants.

He was busy tidying up his desk area, all while trying to fight a grin. He could stop thinking about his and Jack’s dance. He really felt like he hit the Halloween jackpot.

He could vividly remember the feeling he had when Jack dipped him unexpectedly as a way to end off the dance. Jack’s hand was secure around his waist, while Quint kept a firm grip on Jack’s shoulder, their other hands were gripped onto each other, fingers laced together, Jack was even bold enough to press their foreheads together, which got a grin and a laugh out of Quint once he snapped out of his shocked state.

As Quint began to stretch, feeling satisfied with his work, he heard a knock on the wooden doorframe. He looked up and saw Jack’s familiar face in return

“Hey!” Jack grinned

“Greetings” Quint smiled in return, feeling his cheeks warm up once again. He swore he was going to be mistaken for one of Dirks tomato’s by the end of this. 

Jack looked extremely comfortable. He had changed into a pair of red sweatpants, he hadn’t changed out of the black t-shirt he wore at the party, and his hair and face was still wet from scrubbing off the access face paint. He seemed to be carrying something, but he hid it behind the treehouse wall

“You look comfy” Quint smiled

Jack chuckled “Thanks”

Jack took a deep breath “Alright, so I’m not going to be around the bush with this one.” Jack started, getting a raised brow from Quint

“I still feel bad, like- ridiculously bad about tonight, and...I still really want to make it up to you” Jack gave Quint a soft half smile 

“Soooo...” Jack showed Quint what he was carrying. It seemed to be a huge stack of movies, specifically horror, along with a few tubs of ice cream and a couple spoons

“I thought we’d try doing a movie night again, just the two of us” Jack grinned

Quints eyes widened before he smiled softly, followed be a chuckle “You’re just full of surprises tonight aren’t you?” Quint asked with a smile

Jack shrugged “Hey! You can’t blame me! I’m just worried about the greatest best buddy I’ve ever had” 

“Im the only “best buddy” Quint spoke, doing quotation marks with his hands “Youve ever had” Quint chuckled

“And that’s what makes you the greatest!!” Jack grinned

There was a moment of silence between the two before Jack spoke up “So are you going to stand there like a dork or help me with these?” Jack asked

Quint laughed, walking over to his best friend and shortening his load, Quint scanned the DVD covers “Where did you manage to get all these?” Quint asked, flipping over the case and reading the description of the movie on the back

Jack smiled “My foster parents had quite the collection of horror movies, when we broke into the garage I managed to find them in a old box!” 

Quint chuckled in return “Wow...they’ve got a few of my favorites!” Quint smiled, shuffling through the case of DVD’s

“If you want...” Jack started “We could go back to watching movies every Saturday?” 

“If we can figure out what day IS Saturday” Quint joked, getting a laugh out of Jack 

“In all seriousness...I’d love that Jack. Thank you” Quint smiled fondly

Jack was incredibly lucky it was a little dark, or else Quint would’ve been able to see his face turn pink. Jack smiled fondly in return “Don’t mention it buddy” 

The duo made their way to the couch, choosing a film the two felt they could handle and popped open the tubs of ice cream. The two spent a good majority of those few hours making jokes about the more terrifying scenes, making each other laugh so hard they nearly snorted their ice cream, and latching onto each other and screaming in unison when jump scare’s popped up.

Around halfway through their movie marathon, the duo began to grow tired. Quint slowly began to rest his head on Jack’s shoulder, causing the others face to go red. 

Quint began to close his eyes, before speaking softly, his voice rough from the lack of sleep

“Hey Jack?” 

“Yeah Buddy?”

“I’ve missed this” 

Jack felt his heart flutter before he smiled softly, he began to wrap an arm around Quints shoulders. He rested his head against Quints, letting out a soft sigh 

“Yeah...Me too”


End file.
